The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Islanders 4-3 in the first game with fans in Nassau Coliseum off two goals from Oskar Lindblom.

The Flyers built a 3-0 lead in the second period off goals from Lindblom, Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. They were heavily outshooting the Islanders after two periods. Lindblom scored the game winning goal with less than three minutes left in the third period.

In between the third and fourth Flyer goals, Michael Dal Colle, Sebastian Aho and Oliver Wahlstrom led the Islanders’ through a fierce comeback in the third period. Nick Leddy assisted on each of the goals and leads Islanders defensemen in points. His 20 assists leads all defensemen in the MassMutual East Division.

“I thought we got to our game in the third, but one play got us,” Leddy said. He added that Dal Colle’s tally sparked the team and was impressed at his play.

Dal Colle and Aho each scored their first goals of the season. It was Dal Colle’s first goal since February 2020 and Aho’s first since January 2018.

“Obviously a good feeling to get the monkey off the back,” Dal Colle said about his goal. He said he didn’t think the team played particularly well but hopes the they can build momentum from their strong third period.

Semyon Varlamov started his second game in a row and made 27 saves in the loss. Carter Hart made 22 saves for the Flyers, picking up his eighth win of the season. The Islanders have now lost two games in a row, the first time they’ve done so since Feb. 18 and 20 against the Penguins.

It was also the first time the Islanders had paying fans in attendance since March 7, 2020 against the Carolina Hurricanes. The last time the Islanders won with fans in the building was Feb. 23, 2020 against the San Jose Sharks. The Islanders sold out their first seven home games, so fans will continue to fill the barn on Saturday against the Flyers.

“Tonight we fed off [the fans] in the third period,” Josh Bailey said. “Looking forward to playing more games in front of them.”

Thursday’s game was the first of three consecutive meetings between the Islanders and Flyers. They play once more on Long Island on Saturday before traveling to Philadelphia to finish the mini series on Monday.

Ben Baruch

Born and raised on Long Island. Isles fan since 2009. Studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.